


A phone call.

by IceBreeze



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Allison needs a hug, Amnesia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Injury, M/M, The Queen and The Guardian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-07 19:25:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7726786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IceBreeze/pseuds/IceBreeze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neil gets a phone call.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A phone call.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MystifyandAmuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MystifyandAmuse/gifts).



> [Send me a prompt and I'll write something for you!](http://polyhymina.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
>  
> 
> Gifted to Tigzy435 because she was a life saver and helped me edit this jerk.

It had been a good day, when it happened. You and Andrew had been relaxing with the cats, all of you curled around each other on the couch with the TV blaring in the background as you soaked up the peace and casual intimacy that left you feeling warm inside. Neither of you had been plagued by nightmares that caused you to lock yourself away, a knife in your hands and smoke in your lungs until shadows stopped hunting you. A good day.

_(One you’d hoped would last)._

But then your phone rang, splintering the peace and sending you fumbling to answer it (you still weren’t fully accustomed to using it, the model too foreign and new for you to understand. You missed your flip-phone). It was Allison and the moment she spoke you straightened, the warning signs immediate from the start.

“Neil?”

Her voice was scratchy and rough despite her attempts to mask it, like she’d been crying or shouting (knowing Allison, probably both). There was too much noise in the background, none of it familiar in a way you liked, none of it good (children crying, voices shouting, pained groans, sirens). You didn’t speak, didn’t breathe, you just waited, braced for the awful, awful news you knew was about to come. And it did:

“It’s Renee, she’s in the hospital. It’s bad and the doctors-”

Her voice hitched, like she was trying not to cry again and worry spiked through you, eyes flinching around the room for items you knew well.

“-they don’t know if she’s going to make it.”

Andrew was sitting up now, staring at the phone with his default expression but you knew he’d heard every word from the way his fingers had twitched and his back was ramrod straight.

“Could you come here?”

The question was shaky, vulnerable, and your muscles tensed with the almost forgotten urge to run.

_(It wasn’t surprising, not after Seth, but it didn’t make it any less terrifying. You wondered, under a vague circulation of dread, if she wouldn’t be able to recover a second time)._

You kept this thought to yourself and instead told her:

“Of course, we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

Andrew doesn’t comment on your inclusion of him (not even an eye roll), but he’s up and grabbing his car keys before you have your phone back in your pocket. Together, you drive to the address she gave you.

_(You try not to think about how much it feels like going to a funeral)._

* * *

 

When you enter the hospital waiting room you were greeted by the sight of Coach, who was trying to hassle Asha and Deene into staying still (clearly trying to hold back his own worry so as to help Allison), and Allison, who looked like, well, shit. The makeup did nothing to disguise how bloodshot her eyes and pale her skin is, her knuckles are bruised like she’s been punching something and despite her attempts to hide it, the trembling in her hands is clear.

_(You haven’t seen her this shaken in many years and the last time was after 24 hours in labour. It’s unnerving)._

The sight of her caused you to falter marginally in your steps- not by much, but enough to draw her attention to you. She managed a smile but it was weak and lasted barely a second before it crumbled. You drew her into a hug which was gratefully returned, Andrew standing to the side in disinterest. You waited until she’d pulled away before asking:

“What happened?”

At her expression, you grimaced, already knowing this was going to be unpleasant. She cast an anxious glance back towards the two children before ushering you away so they couldn’t overhear. She didn’t try to order Andrew, she already knew he’d do what he wanted (which, in this case, was to follow). Only once you were out of earshot did she begin to speak.

“She’d gone for a drive on her bike when a fucking idiotic driver- who, was shitfaced and high as a kite - hit her. At 80mph. She went flying, hit her head and god knows what else. They were in surgery for fifteen hours and she still hasn’t woken up. The doctor isn’t sure she ever will”

You breathed, able to pull up the image of Renee battered and bleeding all too easily, and asked:

“What happened to the driver who hit her?”

She laughed, the sound borderline hysterical, fists clenching. She spat, venom coating every word and suddenly you had an idea of where she’d been shouting:

“The bastard was bought in with minor injuries, a lot of whining about the dent in his car and is getting off with a fine. Once the doctors were finished with him I added a broken nose and a black eye to the inventory.”

A sick feeling of hate curdled in your gut, stirring the part of you that itched to ruin him; the part you thought had been buried with your father. You shook it off to think about later, when things weren’t so pressing.  For now, Allison was the primary concern and you let yourself focus on that, squeezing her hand in yours as you asked:

“How are you holding up?”

She laughed, dryly, and said (with no little irony), “I’m fine.”

Glad that she was still able to joke at least, you tsked, “That’s plagiarism. I’ll sue, you know.”

This time her laugh was genuine, but it broke of as she bit back a sob. The trembling intensified, her eyes clenching shut and you cast a look at Andrew, hoping he understood your meaning. He did- as always- and went to Coach, helping with the children and leaving you alone with Allison.

_(She wouldn’t want many people to see her cry)._

You put your free arm around her in comfort. The tears came silently, her shoulders shaking under your arm, and for a moment you were at a loss of what to do. There was a minute twinge in the back of your head, the lingering instinct that told you to run- to flee, to cut all ties and vanish- but you shook it off like you do a mosquito, and simply waited, providing what silent comfort you could. After the tears had run dry and her shaking had calmed, she croaked:

_“I can’t lose her.”_

You told her, “You won’t,” but the words were heavy on your tongue and you couldn’t shake how much it felt like a lie.

_(You always were good at lying)._

It left a bitter taste in your mouth that you weren’t able to provide the steady answer she needed, but you knew the reassurance was what she needed to hear (even if you both knew they were empty words). You pull away from the hug but neither of you let go of each others hand, knowing she needs an anchor now more than ever. You go over to rejoin Wymack and Andrew, hand in hand, to wait for news.

_(You feel like you’re doing a lot of waiting today)._

* * *

 

Four hours pass before the doctor comes out looking harrowed, and by then it’s down to just the three of you. (Wymack had left to drop the Deene and Asha off at Abby’s a few minutes prior). She stands near the entry way, fingers tapping against the board in a disjointed rhythm as she calls:

“Mrs. Walker-Reynolds?”

Allison is up faster than you can blink, hurrying over to them with the expression of someone torn between hope and distress whilst you and Andrew followed behind her.

“That’s me. Is she awake?”

The doctor’s lips thin, clearly thinking over her words, saying:

“She is awake but I’m afraid there are…complications.”

The way she said the word complication made your gut curdle and based on the unhidden fear in Allison’s voice, she felt it too.

“Complications?”

“Well, she-” the doctor paused, struggling over a decision before saying, “It’s probably better if you see it before I explain.”

That did nothing to curb the foreboding you felt, but Allison seemed to be more relieved at the fact she could see Renee than anything else. After exchanging a glance with Andrew, it was clear he felt the same as you did, for he was frowning. But the three of you followed her through the looming corridor until she came to a stop in front of a room and gestured you in, saying:

“She’s in here.”

You entered, Allison leading with a barely restrained desperation, and were immediately struck with the sudden frantic understanding that something was hideously wrong. It was in Renee’s face; a polite smile that did little to hide how blank her expression was and the confusion in her eyes that flickered over the three of you and the doctor with all the recognition of an empty slate. It was in the way she asked, voice familiar, yet not so genuine in its intention that it was like a knife to the gut:

“Who are you?”

It was as if someone had coated the room in ice; you could scarcely breathe and everything seemed slow, sluggish, unreal. (This couldn’t be real, but it was and you wondered why these things seemed to always happen to foxes). You barely managed to force yourself through the shock enough to rip your gaze to Allison but when you did, you wished you hadn’t.

_(You’d never seen someone’s heart break before but in that moment you learned it’s something that you never want to see again)._

**Author's Note:**

> Can be found on [tumblr.](http://polyhymina.tumblr.com/writings)
> 
> By the way, if any one is willing to beta-read the occasional fic for me then it would be very much appreciated and I would love you forever and will definitely repay you somehow.


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